Circassians in Turkey

The Circassian genocide was the Russian Empire's systematic mass murder,[15][16][17][18] ethnic cleansing,[19][16][17][18] forced migration[20][16][17][18]-expulsion[21][16][17][18] of 800,000–1,500,000 Circassians[22][23][16][17][18] (at least 75% of the total population) from their homeland Circassia. This occurred in the aftermath of the Caucasian War in the second half of the 19th century.[24] The displaced people were settled primarily to the Ottoman Empire, especially modern-day Turkey.[22] Much of Adyghe culture was disrupted after the conquest of their homeland by Russia in 1864.

Circassians are regarded by historians to play a key role in the history of Turkey. Turkey has the largest Adyghe population in the world, around half of all Circassians live in Turkey, mainly in the provinces of Samsun and Ordu (in Northern Turkey), Kahramanmaraş (in Southern Turkey), Kayseri (in Central Turkey), Bandırma, and Düzce (in Northwest Turkey), along the shores of the Black Sea; the region near the city of Ankara. All citizens of Turkey are considered Turks by the government, but it is estimated that approximately two million ethnic Circassians live in Turkey. The "Circassians" in question do not always speak the languages of their ancestors, and in some cases some of them may describe themselves as "only Turkish". The reason for this loss of identity is mostly due to Turkey's governmen assimilation policies[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] [33][34][35][36][37][38] and marriages with non-Circassians.

Circassians are regarded by historians to play a key role in the history of Turkey. Some of the exilees and their descendants gained high positions in the Ottoman Empire. Most of the Young Turks were of Circassian origin. Until the end of the First World War, many Circassians actively served in the army. In the period after the First World War, Circassians came to the fore in Anatolia as a group of advanced armament and organizational abilities as a result of the struggle they fought with the Russian troops until they came to the Ottoman lands. However, the situation of the Ottoman Empire after the war caused them to be caught between the different balances of power between Istanbul and Ankara and even become a striking force. For this period, it is not possible to say that Circassians all acted together as in many other groups in Anatolia. The Turkish government removed 14 Circassian villages from Gönen and Manyas regions in December 1922, May and June 1923, without separating women and children, and drove them to different places in Anatolia from Konya to Sivas and Bitlis. This incident had a great impact on the assimilation of Circassians.

After 1923, Circassians were restricted by policies such as the prohibition of Circassian language,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][30] changing village names, and surname law.[47][48][49] Circassians, who had many problems in maintaining their identity comfortably, were seen as a group that inevitably had to be assimilated.

In the census of 1965, those who spoke Circassian as first language were proportionally most numerous in Kayseri (3.2%), Tokat (1.2%) and Kahramanmaraş (1.0).

• Minorities in Turkey
• Circassians in Iran
• Circassians in Syria
• Circassians in Iraq
• Peoples of the Caucasus in Turkey

• Turkey: History and current situation of the Circassians (Çerkes, Čerkes, Čerkas, Cerkez, Çerkez, Ad²ghe, Adige, Adyge, Adighe).

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